Sinhalese and Adivasi Populations

Sinhalese and Adivasi Populations : Recently, a groundbreaking genome study published in Current Biology has offered new insights into the ancestral origins and genetic evolution of the Sinhalese and Adivasi populations in Sri Lanka.

o Contrary to long-standing beliefs that the Sinhalese migrated from northern India, the study reveals strong genetic connections with South Indian Dravidian-speaking populations.

• Key Highlights : Involved whole-genome sequencing of 35 urban Sinhalese and 19 Adivasi individuals (5 Interior Adivasi, 14 Coastal Adivasi).

o Also included genome data of 35 Sri Lankan Tamils from the 1,000 Genomes Project.

o Both Sinhalese and Adivasi populations are genetically closest to Dravidian-speaking South Indian groups, not North Indians—contradicting earlier theories of a northern origin for the Sinhalese.

o Sinhalese carry a high proportion of Ancestral South Indian (ASI) ancestry and low Steppe-related Indo-European ancestry, despite speaking an Indo-European language.

o The language of the Sinhalese (Indo-European) does not align with their genetic ancestry—suggesting cultural transmission of language rather than migration of a large genetically distinct population.

o Genetic and anthropological evidence confirms that Adivasi were present in Sri Lanka before the Sinhalese migrated, descending from early hunter-gatherers.

o This is the first high-resolution genome sequencing of Indigenous Adivasi and urban Sinhalese populations, offering new insights into South Asian population history.

• The study highlights deep genetic ties between India and Sri Lanka, shaped over thousands of years of migration and intermixing.